U.S. senator offers feisty invite to any potential challengers

BATON ROUGE — With pundits and odds-makers predicting a tough reelection bid for U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu in 2014, she offered some terse words for possible opponents in an appeal to donors last month.

Jeremy AlfordCapitol Correspondent

BATON ROUGE — With pundits and odds-makers predicting a tough reelection bid for U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu in 2014, she offered some terse words for possible opponents in an appeal to donors last month.“This won't be the first tough Senate race we've been through, and I have three words for any potential opponents,” wrote Louisiana's senior senator, a Democrat from New Orleans. “Bring. It. On!” Depending on how things shake out politically, Landrieu could potentially face challengers with close ties to the Terrebonne-Lafourche area.For example, U.S. Rep. Jeff Landry, a Republican from New Iberia who represents the sister parishes on Capitol Hill, could become part of the mix. The Washington, D.C., newspaper Roll Call called Landry “an X factor… who is seen as a possible contender.”Landry lost his bid for re-election this past fall and his current term ends Thursday. So far, though, he's non-committal on the 2014 Senate race. “I've come to a point in my life where the best way to live my life is to not open or close any doors, but to allow them to be opened or closed for me through the power of the Lord,” Landry said in an interview last week. U.S. Rep. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, is considering the race as well. He represents the 6th Congressional District, which will include the northern halves of Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes beginning with the next term that convenes this month. “What American who loves their country wouldn't want to run for the U.S. Senate? And we certainly need some help in the Senate,” Cassidy said in an earlier interview. “We're going to go around the state and speak to supporters to see if there's an appetite for the idea.” Also pondering a challenge to Landrieu, a three-term senator, is U.S. Rep. John Fleming, R-Minden. But with $2 million in the bank, Cassidy's campaign finance outlook is the strongest among the trio. Fleming has roughly $459,000 cash on hand, according to the Federal Election Commission, while Landry, fresh off a bitterly fought and unsuccessful campaign, has about $189,000 in his campaign kitty. Landrieu, meanwhile, has more than $1.6 million in her campaign war chest, and she's trying to raise more ahead of when her campaign will close its books on the year and “release our first public fundraising report of this campaign.” Landrieu added “this is our first chance to show our opponents how strong we are and that we're ready for anything they throw our way.”In her letter to donors, she said Republicans are gearing up to try and defeat her in 2014. “In fact, winning this Senate seat in Louisiana will be one of their top goals for 2014,” Landrieu wrote. “But that doesn't worry me.”Landrieu said she was pleased to close a productive year from a policy standpoint as well. “Together, we passed bipartisan legislation like the Restore Act, which will send billions of dollars from the BP settlement to the Gulf states,” she wrote. “It was a game changer for Louisiana and the Gulf Coast.”

Jeremy Alford can be reached at jeremy@jeremyalford.com.

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